Deleterious Effects of an Air Pollutant (NO2) on a Selection of Commensal Skin Bacterial Strains, Potential Contributor to Dysbiosis?

Xavier Janvier; Stéphane Alexandre; Amine M Boukerb; Djouhar Souak; Olivier Maillot; Magalie Barreau; Frantz Gouriou; Catherine Grillon; Marc G J Feuilloley; Anne Groboillot

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.591839

Deleterious Effects of an Air Pollutant (NO₂) on a Selection of Commensal Skin Bacterial Strains, Potential Contributor to Dysbiosis?

Front Microbiol. 2020 Dec 8:11:591839. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.591839. eCollection 2020.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Microbiology Signals and Microenvironment LMSM EA 4312, University of Rouen-Normandy, Normandy-University, Evreux, France.
² Laboratory of Polymers, Biopolymers and Surfaces UMR CNRS 6270, University of Rouen-Normandy, Normandy-University, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France.
³ Aerothermic and Internal Combustion Engine Technological Research Center, Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, France.
⁴ Center for Molecular Biophysics, UPR CNRS 4301, Orléans, France.

Abstract

The skin constitutes with its microbiota the first line of body defense against exogenous stress including air pollution. Especially in urban or sub-urban areas, it is continuously exposed to many environmental pollutants including gaseous nitrogen dioxide (gNO₂). Nowadays, it is well established that air pollution has major effects on the human skin, inducing various diseases often associated with microbial dysbiosis. However, very few is known about the impact of pollutants on skin microbiota. In this study, a new approach was adopted, by considering the alteration of the cutaneous microbiota by air pollutants as an indirect action of the harmful molecules on the skin. The effects of gNO₂ on this bacterial skin microbiota was investigated using a device developed to mimic the real-life contact of the gNO₂ with bacteria on the surface of the skin. Five strains of human skin commensal bacteria were considered, namely Staphylococcus aureus MFP03, Staphylococcus epidermidis MFP04, Staphylococcus capitis MFP08, Pseudomonas fluorescens MFP05, and Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum CIP102622. Bacteria were exposed to high concentration of gNO₂ (10 or 80 ppm) over a short period of 2 h inside the gas exposure device. The physiological, morphological, and molecular responses of the bacteria after the gas exposure were assessed and compared between the different strains and the two gNO₂ concentrations. A highly significant deleterious effect of gNO₂ was highlighted, particularly for S. capitis MFP08 and C. tuberculostearicum CIP102622, while S. aureus MFP03 seems to be the less sensitive strain. It appeared that the impact of this nitrosative stress differs according to the bacterial species and the gNO₂ concentration. Thus the exposition to gNO₂ as an air pollutant could contribute to dysbiosis, which would affect skin homeostasis. The response of the microbiota to the nitrosative stress could be involved in some pathologies such as atopic dermatitis.

Keywords: 3-nitrotyrosine(3-NT); AFM (atomic force microscope); Corynebacterium; Pseudomonas; Staphylococcus; air pollution; nitrogen dioxide (NO2); skin microbiota.